We are a group of men in Marin County, California that meets monthly to discuss books that challenge us...to leave our day jobs behind, to find meaning and enjoyment in literature, and to know each other better in the process.

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caveat lector

Criteria*

1. Under 500 pages2. Author has won/been nominated for a major literary award (or any award)3. No books by women about women (the Eat, Pray, Love rule)*For one day out of 30; on the other 29, we're unconstrained

Sep 17, 2017

Our dinners are often staged by the
host to reflect the characters or events in the book under discussion.
Last Thursday, Dean faced an especially difficult challenge in preparing a meal
that would be edible yet reminiscent of the dystopia in George Orwell's
best-known work.

As he has
in the past, Dean rose to the challenge. His genius was in recognizing that
there was nothing worth eating in the bleak wartime environment of 1984. So instead he mined the year of 1984 for his recipes. We were served grilled steaks in pepper sauce, scalloped potatoes, and stewed vegetables--all
reputedly popular in 1984! Dean made sure we got the point by
setting his Pandora playlist to 1984, resulting in background tracks from
Prince (RIP!), Kenny Loggins, Tina Turner, and others. In a nod to
Orwell, though, Dean did offer us a dessert of genuine chocolate bars washed
down with cups of Victory coffee. Bravo, Dean!

Our
Review and Discussion of 1984 by George Orwell

Written
in 1949, and set in a bombed-out London of the future, Orwell’s iconic novel describes a world that has devolved into
three warring superstates, one of which (Oceania) is ruled by the remote but
all-knowing Big Brother. The novel's protagonist, Winston Smith, is
presented as a conscientious party member who becomes disaffected, is caught
and tortured, and later finds solace in his relationship with Big Brother.

While
most of us were familiar with the story, we were nevertheless struck by the parallels
between our reality and Orwell’s fantasy.Dean compared the doublespeak
practiced by Winston’s Ministry of Truth to the “alternative facts” touted
by the current White House. Paul was more intrigued by how today’s technology
(CCTV, facial recognition, bodyworn cameras, GPS tracking) has become as
pervasive in our lives as Orwell’s “telescreen” is in Winston’s. If 1984 was meant to warn us about the
perils of technology in the hands of a totalitarian government, Terry worried
that the warning may be lost on today’s youth, who appear too willing to trade privacy for convenience.

Orwell’s depiction
of the concentration of government power and the rise of an elite class of
party members caused Larry to muse that, unlike the state in 1984, it is the technology behemoths
that exert so much control in our daily lives. Larry’s commentary about the
rise of Silicon Valley led John to complain that a knowledge-based economy is
contributing to the development of an underclass that rejects education and advancement,
much like the “proles” in 1984.

Our
Rating of 1984

Our discussion would have continued but for the
late hour.At rating time, we all acknowledged
the continuing relevance of 1984 even
if we were less impressed by its plot and, in Peter’s view, its dated writing. For
his prescience, if not his storytelling, Orwell pulled down a respectable 7.4.

Next
Up: The Taking of K-129 by Josh Dean

Thanks to Dutton’s generosity,
we received advance copies of The Taking
of K-129, Josh Dean’s account of America’s covert effort to retrieve a
Soviet nuclear sub that sank in international waters. Next month, we will leave
the social paranoia of the early Cold War and turn to the US-USSR military tensions
of the early 1970s.